WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as an Office Worker at the Anomaly Management Bureau ◈
Chapter 40: The End of the Workshop
──────
-Boom!
Each time an enormous mass of dirt crashed to the ground, Jang Chae-yeon stretched out her hand, and dirt poured down like rain.
“Once we get out of here, I need to shower first!”
“I agree.”
I agreed with Yoo Da-on’s cheerful shout and fired several shots, even though I knew it was pointless.
The tree trunks that occasionally flew at us were blocked by Song A-rin’s clay figures, or Yoo Da-on threw herself into their path.
But there was one fatal problem.
“We can’t land any effective hits.”
“You’re shooting from the back and still expecting so much!”
Song A-rin grumbled and stretched out her hand. Another clay figure appeared, only to be pierced by a tree trunk and vanish.
The infant’s eyes rolled, and its low voice rang out again.
“From the creation of the world, His invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen and understood through the things He has made, leaving them without excuse.”
“Even the figures have limits! What are we supposed to do?”
Song A-rin’s urgent voice made me anxious as well.
Should I fire now?
I couldn’t.
If there was one thing I’d realized after using Critical a few times, it was that I could instinctively tell when the time had come to use it.
And my instincts told me that using it now would be meaningless.
“We only need to make an opening somehow, right?”
Yoo Da-on, now covered in dirt, looked at me.
“For now, yes. Do you have a good idea?”
“I have one.”
Seeing Yoo Da-on’s calm expression somehow made me even more nervous.
“Chae-yeon is drawing its attention right now. So if I draw its attention instead, that’ll work, right?”
“...It makes sense, but can you really do it?”
I looked at Yoo Da-on not because I was dismissing her, but because I genuinely wondered whether it was possible.
After all, I couldn’t expect Yoo Da-on to have Jang Chae-yeon’s destructive power.
At my words, she raised the axe that had been embedded in her neck earlier.
“If I get close and start swinging this axe, won’t it smash me to pieces?”
“...”
She wasn’t wrong.
“It’ll hurt.”
“It probably will.”
She spoke as though it were nothing.
“But that’s all, isn’t it?”
“...”
Was this how immortals thought?
She smiled and gripped the axe with both hands.
“If you’re worried, have a drink with me after this is over.”
“That isn’t difficult.”
Song A-rin sighed and joined the conversation.
“Whenever someone says something like that, things always go wrong. I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to make sure they don’t.”
“Were you not planning to help?”
“I was just trying to get some credit. ...Well.”
She mumbled as though embarrassed, then looked ahead.
“Chae-yeon, you heard her. Please.”
“Don’t worry.”
Without looking back, Jang Chae-yeon nodded.
“No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”
“Please look after the others too.”
“I’ll go easy on them.”
“I can do all things through the one who gives me strength.”
The low voice spoke again.
At some point, it had started saying only what it wanted to say.
We’d been able to communicate until just moments ago.
I only had a moment to wonder about it before another wave of dirt and stones came pouring down.
“Let’s go!”
As soon as I spoke, Yoo Da-on charged ahead with the axe in hand. Song A-rin and I ran through the gaps between the clay figures.
The dirt and rocks falling from above continued to scatter and bounce away, while the clay figures occasionally blocked attacks for us.
The ground shook.
With every step toward the Mountain God, awe, then fear, filled my heart. I gritted my teeth and ran forward, shoving Yoo Da-on and Song A-rin from behind with both hands as they staggered under the pressure.
We were almost there.
The clay figures gathered together like a wall blocking the way. Then, with a single movement, one root swept through and wiped out half of them.
But that was enough.
Yoo Da-on quickly kicked off the collapsing mound of dirt and leaped.
She raised her axe in midair, but a huge root pierced her neck, killing her instantly.
I ran after her, stepping on the mound of dirt.
Whenever I slipped, I stepped on the clay figures and jumped upward, aiming my gun in midair.
[Critical: 1 -> 0]
The world slowed down.
A red dot appeared on the Mountain God’s forehead, and I pulled the trigger as though possessed.
-Bang!
The bullet sank into the red dot as if being drawn in, and the Mountain God opened its mouth in a silent scream.
Its abdomen swelled, and people’s voices began flowing from its mouth.
-Please let this year’s harvest go well.
-Please make me rich.
-Please keep me from getting sick.
-Please let me harvest better crops than Mr. Kim next door.
-The village chief is being far too loud. Please kill him.
They were wishes.
The wishes countless people had made to the Mountain God.
My gaze turned to Yoo Da-on.
“Cough, cough...!”
“Da-on!”
I quickly pulled Yoo Da-on away as she struggled while clutching the root embedded in her neck.
Then-
“Hey! Move!”
By the time I heard Song A-rin’s sharp shout and looked to the side, it was too late.
A sharp pain tore through my side, and my vision lurched sideways.
“Urgh!”
I rolled across the ground.
My body finally stopped just as my vision began to spin. When I touched my throbbing side, blood stained my hand.
-Boom!
Something shook violently before my blurred vision, and someone grabbed both my cheeks.
“Are you alive?”
“...For now.”
It was Song A-rin.
She slipped her hands under my shoulders and began dragging me backward with a strained groan.
I tried to say something with my uncooperative tongue, but she shook her head.
“Stay still. I’ll... no. We’ll handle it.”
She gently stroked my cheek once with a trembling hand, then turned and ran somewhere.
The noise continued, louder and more violent than before.
Song A-rin, Yoo Da-on, and Jang Chae-yeon’s shouts echoed in my head. Sometimes, I heard screams too.
Where had we gone wrong?
I thought through my dazed mind.
Nothing had gone wrong.
I had simply put too much faith in Critical.
From the start, our position had never changed from that of challengers, or prey.
I’d become too absorbed in our recent formula for victory. I’d naturally assumed that landing a Critical meant we would win.
The result was the pain tearing through my side.
Let’s think of another way.
Gods were beings sustained by faith.
But would killing all those believers solve anything?
Could it really be that easy?
I turned my head toward the sky and watched the stones pouring down.
Do not forget that faith existed before the birth of a god.
With a trembling hand, I reached into my clothes and took out the manual.
It opened, revealing a page.
[Manual for Office Workers]
[N - On Higher-Order Objects]
1. Higher-order objects are far more dangerous than you think because they are influenced by mass religion. Avoid direct confrontation.
2. If direct confrontation is unavoidable, end it quickly.
3. Among higher-order objects, those that have grown by feeding on faith have the longest persistence, but there are firm limits on the physical force they can exert.
4. Removing believers is meaningless. This is a phenomenon caused by <CENSORED>. You must stop believers from supplying additional faith and destroy the exposed source of faith.
5. Methods of destruction include <CENSORED>, physical impact, <CENSORED>, and mental impact.
The exposed source of faith.
Then we had a way to win.
I forced myself up, pressing a hand against my aching side.
Through my blurred vision, I saw the three of them running desperately around.
Jang Chae-yeon was knocking away stones while bleeding from the nose. Song A-rin, pale and sweating coldly, was still controlling the clay figures. Yoo Da-on, bleeding all over, swung her axe with an expressionless face.
“Everyone, listen up!”
I shouted with one hand against my side. The three of them stopped at once and looked at me.
“Forget defense! Jang Chae-yeon and I are the key! Yoo Da-on takes the front! Song A-rin guards us! We only need to advance ten meters!”
It could hear us. I kept it brief, then staggered forward.
Fortunately, all three seemed to understand. Jang Chae-yeon supported me as we ran, while Yoo Da-on led the way, taking the dirt and stones with her axe and sometimes with her body. Song A-rin protected the two of us with her remaining clay figures.
“We’ll attack twice.”
“Got it.”
Jang Chae-yeon nodded.
The awe was even stronger than before.
“A new god is being born!”
Song A-rin shouted desperately.
But it was fine now.
[Coordinate Ripping: 2 uses remaining]
The graph paper appeared before my eyes again.
This time, I saw something different from before.
There were people inside its swollen abdomen.
Sometimes old people. Sometimes infants. Sometimes strong young men.
All of them shed tears of blood in its stomach as they pounded at something beyond it.
Even before I spoke, Jang Chae-yeon had already stretched out her hand.
Once, the people inside its stomach began to crumple.
[Coordinate Ripping: 1 use remaining]
Again.
This time, the people began to tear apart.
-Please grant me eternal life!
-The power to bring down everyone better than me!
-Wealth enough to live without working for the rest of my life!
Their voices echoed.
Then everything stopped, as though nothing had happened.
I panted as I looked ahead.
It was a statue of an infant sculpted from clay.
It was identical to what I had seen in the lodge.
A translucent window naturally appeared before my eyes.
[Name: Sad Reality]
[Age: Created moments ago]
[Trait: -]
[Talent: -]
[Background: Reverence for God is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.]
[Weakness: -]
It was over.
My strength left me, and I collapsed.
Jang Chae-yeon caught me as I fell and smiled gently.
“...Good work.”
“Yes, it was rather difficult.”
“Let’s get you treated first.”
“I agree.”
With that, the incident masquerading as a workshop was over, for now.
Apparently, the team leader had been rescued while camping in a tent and grilling fish.
* * *
I was told to get absolute rest and was given several weeks off.
Now I could finally get some real rest.
“...”
“I’m staying the night.”
“That would be difficult.”
Jang Chae-yeon firmly shook her head while holding a blanket.
“No.”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
